Three Key Protection Techniques for Four-Season Cultivation of Navel Orange

Along with the development of the navel orange industry in Gannan, the management techniques for navel orange throughout the four seasons of the year are becoming increasingly important.

1 Autumn shoot protection

Autumn shoots are the main fruit-bearing mother branches of navel orange, and autumn shoots should be promoted according to different climatic conditions. Generally one week after Minor Heat, nitrogen fertilizer is applied to promote budding according to the fruit load of the plant; after Major Heat the shoots are released; when the buds are half a grain of rice long, spray 25% bisultap 600-fold solution to control citrus leaf miner, spraying once a week until the autumn shoots stop growing; at the same time, spray a shoot-strengthening fertilizer once.

2 Winter leaf protection

Ensuring that navel orange leaves are numerous and deep green in color is an important guarantee of a high yield. From near fruit harvest to before flowering the following year, the focus should be on protecting the leaves, that is, apply pre-harvest fertilizer half a month before harvest, apply pre-harvest fertilizer within half a month after picking, and apply post-harvest fertilizer within half a month after picking; both fertilizer applications are mainly phosphorus and potassium fertilizer. In winter, basal fertilizer should also be applied together with orchard cleaning, applying 20 kg of pig and cattle pen manure, 800 g of cake fertilizer, and 500 g of superphosphate per plant, along with compost and burnt soil fertilizer, to improve the tree's cold resistance and leaf protection ability.

3 Spring flower protection

Applying flower-protection fertilizer well is the prerequisite, to promote full and high-quality flower buds; when 50% of the flowers on the plant have fallen, spray 0.3% urea and 2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate as a foliar spray to protect the flowers. If there are many flower buds but not many spring shoots, the longer branches may be appropriately shortened and some vigorous shoots thinned. After the flowers fall, spray 0.2% to 0.25% potassium dihydrogen phosphate continuously 2 to 3 times. Pay attention to removing buds and controlling shoots to prevent later fruit drop. While strengthening fertilizer and water management, the fruit should also be bagged to protect the fruit.